


Get By With A Little Help

by kathierif_fic



Series: supernatural series [1]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-17
Updated: 2010-10-17
Packaged: 2017-10-12 18:08:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/127629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kathierif_fic/pseuds/kathierif_fic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John Sheppard never thought he'd end up living in another galaxy, and he'd never thought that he would ever get bitten by a vampire and turned. But both happen, and while he is happy with the first, he's struggling with the second and all its repercussions: a bad sun allergy, a weird diet, and pointy teeth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Get By With A Little Help

**Author's Note:**

> written for vampirebigbang on lj. Beta'ed by the awesome Ginny, thank you so much!  
> Title is a line from The Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends".
> 
> Can be read as gen or with slashy/het overtones.
> 
> Artwork for this fic by can be found here: http://davincis-girl.dreamwidth.org/23501.html

"Remind me again why we're here," Rodney McKay asked and darkly stared at the computer tablet in his hands. "This planet has nothing of interest for us." He glanced up and frowned at the trees around them. They were tall and sturdy, leaving the small path the team was walking on in deep shade. Rodney glanced upwards briefly to confirm that it wasn't dusk yet, even if it almost felt like it, but the tiny patches of sky he could see through the leaves of the trees were a bright shade of blue, indicating that outside this dark forest with its unnatural lack of birds and other small animals and their habit of scaring the living daylights out of him, it was a beautiful summer day.

Teyla gave him a carefully measured look. She didn't slow down as she explained, "The Zubbi are a people who prefer living in these forests." She tilted her head slightly to the side. "I believe we would greatly benefit from trading with them."

"What could they possibly trade?" Rodney asked with an eye roll and kicked at one of the roots crossing the path and lifting the hardened ground up. He'd almost stumbled over a few of them already, and he was sure that he would certainly break his neck, robbing Atlantis and Earth of his brilliance, if they had to walk much further.

"Wooden toys, maybe," John Sheppard piped up. Teyla gave him a short glance, but she knew him well enough by now to realize that he was joking.

"The Zubbi have been more than willing to help people who have been culled in the past," she pointed out, not for the first time, Rodney thought.

"Yeah," Ronon added, speaking for the first time since he'd pointed at the beginnings of the path when they'd arrived on this planet. "Everybody knows that."

"Oh yeah?" Rodney scoffed. "Then why haven't we ever heard about these people?"

Ronon shrugged. His hand shot out and grabbed Rodney's elbow, steadying him, just as he threatened to slip on another root.

"Maybe you asked the wrong people," he suggested.

"They are very reluctant to leave their planet," Teyla explained. "But everybody in this galaxy knows that they are most welcome to dial this planet and find a brief period of protection and rest here."

"Huh." John frowned. "The Wraith have never culled them?"

"The Zubbi have been spared," Teyla agreed. "There are not many people who can say that about themselves."

Rodney saw from the corner of his eyes how John's fingers tightened on his gun, and he felt the muscles of his shoulders and back grow tense at that.

"Maybe they just didn't find them," John said, even if he didn't believe it himself. "I feel like we've been walking in circles."

"We have not," Teyla informed him calmly. "We should arrive at their settlement soon."

"Yeah," Ronon murmured. "Look up. We're being watched. From the trees."

Rodney opened his mouth, but before he could say a single word, John asked from the corner of his mouth, "How long have they been watching us?"

Ronon shrugged almost unnoticeably. "Half a mile, maybe," he guessed. "They're not dangerous, Sheppard. Everyone knows that."

"Still, I want you to be careful," John decided. "And stick together. I don't want us to run into the second Genii or something."

Teyla nodded resolutely, even if the look on her face was skeptical.

"Huh," Rodney said after a few moments of tense silence and squinted up, into the trees. "Even if the Wraith never thought of looking up there, I don't understand why they never got culled."

John turned his head a fraction to the side and upwards. At first, he didn't see it, but then he realized that the Zubbi must have built their settlement straight into the thick foliage of the trees. Unless one knew what to look for, the settlement was almost invisible.

"You think this was enough to keep them safe from the Wraith?" he asked, his voice pitched low.

Rodney frowned unhappily. "No," he replied. "You know how desperately the Wraith are looking for new feeding grounds. They wouldn't pass this up for anything."

John nodded. That was what he had been thinking, as well.

"Maybe they have weapons," he suspected.

Rodney snorted again. "Yes, Colonel. Spears and stones. Yub, yub." He shook his head. "No, I detect no signs of any technical development at all. According to this – " He lifted the lifesign scanner and waved it in John's face, "- they are barely more than apes, climbing trees and flinging poo at anyone attacking them."

Ronon gave him a long look. "They're more than that," he said firmly just as Teyla stopped.

"We are here," she announced, and Rodney hurried to shuffle a few steps closer to her and Sheppard. As little as he wanted to get hit by a stray arrow or any other weapon flung at Teyla or Sheppard, he didn't want the risk of getting separated from them. He was absolutely sure that he would get lost in that thick forest and never be found again – or the same could happen to Sheppard, who didn't really have a sense of orientation unless he was flying something. Rodney was at least a genius and stood a small chance to find the Stargate again. He swallowed and tried to calm down his brain before it sent him into hyperventilation and shock. John Sheppard could take care of himself, he told himself, and Teyla knew what she was doing.

Right now, she was giving him one of her looks and took a step forward. She spread her arms slightly in a gesture of peace and called out, "We come as friends."

It was, Rodney thought, as if the inhabitants of the planet – he'd already forgotten the name, even if he was sure that he would remember it if he had to – had just waited for Teyla's words. Suddenly, the forest around them was swarming with activity. People stepped out from behind trees and lowered weapons, and Rodney couldn't help but feeling a bit surprised that they weren't knee-high bundles of fur, but looked like normal human beings with energy weapons.

"Told you," Ronon smirked, having read the shocked expression on Rodney's face correctly. "They're highly developed people. They have guns."

Rodney glanced down at his scanner. "They must have some sort of shield. I still don't detect anything. Strange."

He bent over his computer again and frowned at the readings, as minimal as they were.

John rolled his eyes a little at Rodney's behavior, but he tried to appear open and friendly to the Zubbi.

They were, he noted, humanoid, their skin pale, almost translucent, their hair long and partly braided. Their clothes were simple and functional, but clean. So far, the Zubbi gave the impression of normal people from the Pegasus galaxy, if maybe a little further developed than most of those that fell victim to the Wraith regularly.

One of them stepped up to Teyla now, his arms spread wide and a wide smile on his pale face. "Teyla of Athos!" he cried out. "It has been a long time since any of your people visited us!"

"Indeed, it has," Teyla agreed. She touched her forehead to his in a gesture was by now as familiar to John as a handshake or a salute.

"How have you been?" the man continued. He seemed delighted to see Teyla, and, even if he looked carefully, John didn't see anything that indicated that Teyla was alarmed or worried by the man's behavior.

"My people have been…well," Teyla replied with a small smile. "I would like to introduce Colonel John Sheppard to you, Chieftain, and Doctor Rodney McKay."

The Chieftain frowned slightly. "I know you," he said and bowed his head slightly in front of Ronon. "Ronon Dex. I have heard your name oftentimes." He smiled, and, without waiting for Ronon to answer, turned toward John. "Colonel John Sheppard. Doctor Rodney McKay."

John forced a smile. "A pleasure," he said.

"Colonel," Teyla smoothly cut in, "Chieftain Rian is the leader of his people and has been for many years."

John nodded and forced his muscles not to stiffen when Chieftain Rian stepped closer to him. They had had too many close calls with natives of the Pegasus galaxy for him to relax with the Chieftain close enough that he could see that his eyes were a brilliant shade of amber that looked warm like honey.

"I have heard a lot of stories about you and your team, Colonel John Sheppard," he said quietly. "A lot of wondrous things. I would be very honored to call you my guests today and share stories over a meal. Will you do me and my people the honor of participating?"

John shrugged slightly and forced a grin. "Yeah, why not," he replied. "Sounds like a lot of fun."

"We are honored by your invitation and gladly accept it," Teyla quickly added. "Thank you for your generosity, Chieftain."

The Chieftain nodded and gave them a wide smile. "Come and celebrate life with us," he said, loud enough for his voice to carry, and lifted his arms, to give a sign to the other Zubbi. "Let us share stories and a meal."

Before their eyes, even more Zubbi appeared, to take the team by the elbows and guide them deeper into the forest, until they reached a clearing where the Zubbi had put together long tables that were already bending under the weight of various dishes, most of which John had never seen before. It was as if they had been expected, he thought suspiciously, but when he took a closer look at the people already sitting at the table he quickly realized that the team from Atlantis hadn't been the only visitors the Zubbi had that day.

Rodney made a happy sound at the back of his throat at the sight of the banquet table and quickly sat down. Ronon and Teyla followed him, and John shrugged as he sank down onto the wooden bench, facing the rest of his team. Rian sat down next to him with a smile.

"Is it true that you came from the city of the Ancients?" he asked curiously and lifted a container from which he poured them all drinks without waiting for their consent.

"Yes," Teyla confirmed. "That is true."

"You have to tell me more about that," Rian said enthusiastically. "But first, eat, drink, dance! Let us celebrate life!"

It wasn't something he had to say twice, and soon, they were enjoying the rich meal. Ronon quickly disappeared, after a nod from John, to sit with a group of young women at another table, and Rodney left them soon after, to talk to the village's alchemists about the shield he still couldn't detect but was certain existed.  
Teyla and Rian started to talk about trade agreements and about people they both knew, and despite his best intentions to pay attention, John's thoughts started to drift off after a while, until a young blonde woman slid onto the bench next to him. She gave him a shy smile and glanced up at him through her lashes.

"You do not look like someone who enjoys trade talk," she said and John chuckled.

"No, not really," he admitted. "What's your name?"

"Riena," she replied and wrapped her coat a little bit tighter around herself. "What is yours?"

John gave her a smile. "You can call me John," he finally decided.

"John," she repeated and gave him another smile. "What a strange name that is."

"Well, not where I'm from," he replied.

Riena turned her body toward him. "Can you tell me more about the place you came from?" she asked eagerly. "I want to learn! But first, let me fill your glass. A dry tongue does not like to tell tales, my father always says."

John glanced around. Ronon and Rodney were still in his line of sight, and there was no sign of danger.

Relaxing further and leaning his elbows on the table while wrapping his hands around his mug, he started to tell Riena about Ferris Wheels.

~*+*~

"Colonel? Sheppard, where are you? Sheppard!"

The voice was familiar, John thought as he slowly forced his eyes open. Very familiar.

"I'm here," he called back – or at least, he tried to. The only thing escaping his throat was a croaking noise that reminded him of a frog.

He slowly tried to sit up, to find out where he was, but it was dark around him. He could see the glimmer of the fire the Zubbi had started when it had gotten dark on the small clearing, and he could tell that he wasn't far away from the others.

His team.

He was lying on a bed of soft moss, he realized when he dug his fingers into it, and it was comfortable enough here. For a moment, he thought about sinking back into it and dozing off, sleeping off all the wine he'd drunk. He was sure that it was just the wine's fault that his head was feeling so heavy that it was almost impossible to string two thoughts together.

One thing he was sure about: whatever had happened, there hadn't been an attack – he felt strangely safe. And he was certain that Ronon would have been able to find him here if he wanted to.

He didn't know how much time went by. He fell in and out of a light sleep, and when a hand grabbed his shoulder and shook him, he jerked awake with a small grunt.

"Oh my God," someone – not someone, his brain reminded him sharply, _Rodney_ \- babbled close to him. A light ghosted over him, blinded him until he clumsily swatted at it.

"Rodney," he managed to slur. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Rodney spluttered. His voice went higher and louder as he picked up speed with every word. "What's wrong, just look at you, you could bleed to death and nobody would notice because you just had to go and play Captain Kirk and wander off with some alien chick and and and…" He gasped for air, and John winced.

"Riena," he supplied helpfully. His words were still slurred, and belatedly he realized that Rodney hadn't taken his hand off of John's shoulder. "She's nice. Wanted to show me something," he added with a frown.

"She – oh my God." Rodney had finally taken his hand from John's shoulder, but only to press a piece of fabric against the same spot almost immediately. In the flickering light of the flashlight, something dark seemed to cling to Rodney's fingers.

John frowned confusedly. "Is that blood?" he asked. A memory surfaced briefly, and he knew that he should be bothered by the fact that Rodney's fingers were dark with blood. "Huh," he said slowly. "She bit me. I didn't see that coming."

"Of course you didn't!" Rodney's voice almost snapped before he lifted his free hand to his radio.

John watched him with a smile. The blood was rushing in his ears, and he couldn't hear Rodney's voice over it anymore, but he knew that Rodney was contacting Teyla and Ronon and that Rodney would keep him safe.

It was the last thing he thought before losing consciousness again.

~*+*~

"Colonel Sheppard?"

John opened his eyes in the familiar surroundings of the infirmary to the sight of a smiling Dr. Keller.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice still a rough whisper. Lifting a hand to his throat, he felt a bandage there, and slowly, a few memories came back to him.

Riena.

Rodney pressing a hand to his throat.

Sneaking away from the banquet with Riena, although he suspected that had came first.

"You got bitten by something," Ronon's voice informed him. "I had to carry you back through the gate."

He was sitting on the bed next to John's, his feet dangling over the side. Teyla stood next to him, Torren in her arms, and Rodney was sitting in the chair next to John's bed, his arms crossed over his chest and his mouth an unhappy downwards slash in his face.

"By something?" he now said, straightening and glaring at Ronon. "Excuse me? You weren't there, you didn't find him! How could you possibly know if it was a something that bit him and not a someone?" He turned his attention to John, his eyes blazing with anger. "You were bitten. By Vampirella. I found you and saved your life by dragging your sorry ass back to Atlantis while you were hallucinating from blood loss!"

"Rodney," Teyla interrupted, her voice quiet but firm. "I believe it was Ronon who carried the Colonel through the Stargate."

Rodney opened his mouth, but before he could say anything else, Dr. Keller spoke up.

"Besides that bite mark on your throat and an elevated count of white blood cells, you appear to be fine, Colonel. However, the teeth marks look definitely human. It appears Rodney's right and you got bitten by someone rather than something."

Rodney muttered something that sounded suspiciously like _Vampirella_ under his breath, and John narrowed his eyes at him.

"I don't see a reason to worry," Keller said over Rodney's grumbling, her voice soothing. "We gave you a tetanus shot and will keep you here for a day, as precaution."

John nodded, and Keller began herding his team out. "Come on, everybody, the Colonel needs his rest."

The last thing he heard was Rodney complaining that nobody believed him, even if he was a certified genius, and John closed his eyes in the middle of rolling them and allowed himself to drift off.

He knew he would hear from Rodney about this, and if he was honest, it wasn't anything he was looking forward to.

2.

When John woke up, Keller was ready to release him, with the order to report back to her if he noticed any changes in himself, and things slowly returned to what was considered normal on Atlantis. The only thing that remained was the row of teeth-shaped wounds on John's throat, and that injury healed within a few weeks. John was spared Rodney's teasing, too, since various projects in the science department kept Rodney busy and distracted.

He didn't think about the Zubbi and the incident anymore, having learned to put incidents quickly behind himself, but when he woke up a few weeks later with a raging headache and a noticeable sensitivity to sunlight, it slowly came back to his mind.

When he noticed a lack of appetite and a growing restlessness in himself, he started to worry and went to the infirmary to find Dr. Keller.

"Colonel, what can I do for you?" she asked, a smile on her face, when she saw him.

John shrugged. "There have been…things," he said carefully and held out his arm for her to inspect. The skin was reddened and blistered and throbbed painfully when the skin was pulled.

"What happened?" Keller asked in alarm, and John shrugged.

"I don't know, Doc," he replied. "I went for a run with Ronon. I think we were outside for ten minutes, maybe fifteen. The sun…"

Keller gave him a curious glance when he trailed off. "Have there been any other symptoms?" she wanted to know and lifted her penlight, to shine it into his eyes.

John shrugged again. "Headaches," he admitted. "Lack of appetite. And I think my teeth are getting pointier." Or maybe, he admitted to himself, he was just imagining that – he hadn't thought anything of the headaches and the lack of appetite either, when they had started. There were so many things they could catch here, in Pegasus, and it was impossible for him to tell if he just had a mild case of the flu or if it was something else.

"Well," Keller replied, not missing a beat, "Let's give you a complete check-up and find out what's going on."

John nodded. He wasn't excited about the idea, but he knew perfectly well that they couldn't be careful enough. If there was one thing he didn't want, it was getting turned into something nasty because of a bite. He had gone through that once, and it had been enough for his lifetime.

"Don't worry," Keller said as she took his arm and guided him to a bed. "We'll figure this out."

"Better ask Ronon or Teyla if they know anything about this kind of thing happening before," John replied. "They both said they've dealt with the Zubbi before. Maybe they can shed some light on this."

"If it really has anything to do with that bite," Keller pointed out, but she reached for her radio nonetheless, to ask Ronon and Teyla to come down to the infirmary.   
Her glance fell to the burn marks on Colonel Sheppard's arm again. It looked as if they were healing themselves already, and they were doing it at a fast rate, she thought.

Something was definitely not right here.

And it was her job to figure out what it was and how to fix it.

Her brain was already running through possibilities as she gave the Colonel another reassuring smile. "Let me start by drawing some blood."

~*+*~

"Never before have I heard of an incident like this," Teyla said, her eyes troubled. "I am sorry, John."

John opened his mouth, to assure her that it was okay, but he closed it without having said a single word. It wasn't her fault, but it definitely was not okay. He couldn't be the military commander of Atlantis and lead a team when exposure to sunlight made his skin burn up within minutes. Keller had covered his arms with a cooling salve and gauze and had assured him that it wasn't any worse than an intense sunburn, but it hadn't helped soothe John's fears and doubts.

"We'll just go back to that planet and ask them," Ronon suggested, his hand already on his gun.

"Under no circumstances will I allow any team to return to that planet!" Woolsey protested sharply. "We don't know yet if that bite really was the reason for Colonel Sheppard's unfortunate…development, or if there were any other reasons for all of this to happen." He turned toward Keller. "Do the other members of Colonel Sheppard show the same symptoms?"

Dr. Keller suddenly found herself the center of attention, and she brushed a hand through her hair nervously. "No," she said quietly. "Just Colonel Sheppard."

She didn't meet his eyes, John thought and leaned back in his chair. His arms itched under the gauze, exactly like healing skin – like his own skin had, back when he'd slowly turned back to himself after being bitten by the Iratus bug. The memory made his skin crawl with discomfort, which only made the itch get worse, and he quickly forced his mind away from that line of thinking.

"Oh, please," Rodney said with a roll of his eyes. "Not everybody has the same lack of self control issues as Captain Kirk here. As long as nobody else gets bitten, we should be fine, right?"

"Lack of self control issues?" John repeated incredulously. "Rodney…"

"As long as our teams don't end up as a snack for Vampirella," Rodney continues, not paying attention to the annoyed expression on John's face, "we'll be fine on that planet. Just…" His mouth twitched. "Beware of the villagers that don't eat. Rian is one of them, I'm sure."

"Rodney, I have known Chieftain Rian for a very long time," Teyla pointed out, her voice forceful. "He has always been a good ally and a friend to my people."

"Maybe the team that gets send there should take some stakes with them," Rodney continued, unperturbed by Teyla's words. He was on a roll, and it would take a big effort to get him off of it, John knew from experience. If Rodney wasn't stopped soon, his scary, brilliant mind would assemble a list of how to kill vampires and would try to outfit the team with crucifixes and holy water. John had to admit that a glimmer of amusement filled him at that thought.

"I am not going to send out another team to that planet and potentially risk the lives of our men unnecessarily," Woolsey decided, his voice firm, bringing the debate to a halt. "Doctor, I want you to find out what exactly happened to Colonel Sheppard and how to reverse it. For the time being, your team will remain in Atlantis, Colonel."

John nodded briefly. He had expected Woolsey to react like that – the man had to think of the entire city and not just a single man, and John still wasn't sure that he wouldn't lose control over himself sooner or later, like it had happened before.

If he went crazy, he decided quietly, he would prefer it to happen on Atlantis, where several people were more than capable of stopping him before he could do something stupid or become a danger for others.

No, Woolsey had made the right decision.

John clung to that thought as he rose and hurried to leave the conference room. He knew that his self control would be severely tested if he was left alone with Rodney right now. Even despite the fact that they were close friends, there were moments when John had to fight the strong urge to punch Rodney in the face, and this was such a moment.

He just hoped it was Rodney's usual annoying personality and not a result of the bite that made him think so.

~*+*~

Rodney found him in the cafeteria, staring at the food on his tray without having touched it. He hesitated for a split second before squaring his shoulders, lifting his chin stubbornly, and stepping around him to slide in the unoccupied chair opposite John.

If he'd expected John to react other than lifting an eyebrow at him, he would be disappointed; however, all expectations Rodney had had were forgotten as soon as he caught a glimpse of John's face.

"You look like hell," he said bluntly. "Even your hair looks tired. When was the last time you ate something or slept?"

John ran a hand through his hair, as if he wanted to make it return to its usual insane state that way before sighing and resting his elbows on the table.

"Days," he admitted. "It's just, nothing looks appetizing."

Rodney glanced to his own tray, piled high with food. "Huh," he said and picked up his fork. "Have you tried drinking blood yet?"

"Rodney," John hissed. He sounded annoyed and tired, but Rodney didn't pay attention to it.

"It worked for Rosemary," he defended himself. "If it works for you, we know at least we weren't wrong!"

"No, Rodney," John replied with forced patience and took a deep breath. "It just means that _you_ weren't wrong."

"Well, yeah." Rodney looked grimly at him. "But if it works, you won't starve to death while the rest of us figures out a way to save you from a life in a Transylvanian castle."

John's lips twitched into something that could almost be called a smile.

"And what do you suggest I do?" he wanted to know. "Grab just anyone and infect them as well?"

Rodney looked slightly queasy at that thought, but he just stabbed his fork in John's direction. "Go to the infirmary, ask them for some," he suggested. "And hey, since you're not eating that…can I have your jello?"

John rolled his eyes and pushed his tray toward Rodney.

As much as he hated to admit it, Rodney probably was right. He needed some kind of nourishment, but the few times he'd tried to force himself to eat something, he'd suffered horrible stomach cramps afterwards. He'd preferred not to eat after having that experience once. He'd told Keller about it, but he had been feeling no ill effects from his forced abstinence from food so far, unless he took the way he looked into account.

The thought of drinking blood, on the other hand, filled him with trepidation. He wasn't sure if he could force himself to do it.

Rodney looked up from his food with a frown. "Why are you still here?" he asked. "Do you…do you want me to, you know, come with you?"

He looked so earnest and worried in that moment that John almost forgot about his earlier teasing and the not quite so nice and friendly thoughts he'd had about Rodney.

He shook his head nonetheless and pushed his chair back before getting up.

"No, I'm good," he replied and pushed the chair back under the table. "Enjoy your dessert before Ronon shows up."

He left the room and hesitated.

The thought of drinking blood didn't exactly fill him with enthusiasm, and if he gave in and went to the infirmary now, he could just as well wear a sign that said " _Rodney is always right._ " He wasn't quite ready for that yet.

Maybe, he thought grimly, he just wasn't hungry right now and his appetite would return soon.

He glanced down at his hands. The skin was still red and irritated from just a brief moment of exposure to the sunlight – the Ancients liked their city bright and with windows, after all, it was almost impossible not to get burned when moving through the halls – and John snorted softly.

"Yeah, sure," he muttered to himself before shaking his head and turning his steps toward the infirmary.

Maybe Keller had another idea.

Because, he told himself firmly, he wasn't a vampire, no matter how much Rodney insisted. He didn't end up a pile of dust when stepping into the sunlight, even if he burned, the smell of garlic and its Pegasus equivalent didn't bother him any more than other food, and the thought of sleeping in a coffin made him laugh instead of appealing to him.

He wasn't a vampire.

He couldn't be a vampire.

That belief kept him going until he reached the infirmary and the faint smell of blood tickled his nose.

Almost immediately, his stomach clenched and grumbled, and John hastily stumbled backwards, away from the tantalizing smell.

He didn't go far. Instincts he never had had before compelled him to find the source of that smell, and he remained frozen, pressed against the wall just outside the infirmary, fighting with himself.

It was how Ronon found him when he left the room, grinning and following one of the Marines who, John noticed, had a bruised nose – the source of the smell, he realized.

He didn't know how long he had been standing there, unable to turn away and unwilling to go ahead, his eyes glued to the Marine, when Ronon nudged him with his elbow.

"Sheppard?" he asked, a faint hint of concern written over his features. "What's wrong?"

John swallowed. "The smell," he explained hesitantly.

Ronon frowned and sniffed. "Smell? What smell?" he asked.

John exhaled shakily and swallowed. "Blood."

Ronon tilted his head. "If smelling blood makes you act all funny…are you sure you want to go in there?" he asked. His hand closed around John's elbow, and he nodded toward the Marine – John had to admit that he couldn't tell the man's name right now. "Get Keller," he ordered gruffly.

John felt almost hysterical, and he knew that breathing deeply wouldn't help him regain his composure. "Don't you smell it?" he asked and glanced up at Ronon.

"No," Ronon admitted, but before John could really start to freak out, Keller stepped up to him.

"Colonel?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

Briefly he explained his heightened sense of smell regarding blood, and Keller frowned.

"This is fascinating," she said. "Are your other senses getting sharper, too?"

John stared at her in disbelief. Fascinating was not the word he would have chosen to describe his current situation.

"I don't know," he admitted after a heartbeat of silence. "What does that mean, Doc?"

Keller glanced at Ronon and bit her lip before looking at him again.

"It means," she explained slowly, "that Rodney was probably right."

~*+*~

"I'm sorry."

Rodney didn't quite look at John. Instead, he fidgeted with the tablet computer in his hands and shifted from one foot to the other.

John squinted up at him. "What for?" he asked back.

Rodney shrugged miserably. "For being right," he admitted. "For you being in this situation."

For someone who usually loved being right and loved to let everybody around them know about it, this had to be a pretty miserable situation, John thought while watching Rodney. However, it didn't suck as much as being stuck in a cell did.

He sighed. "It's okay, Rodney. Not your fault."

A little bit of the tension bled out of Rodney's shoulders. "So…" he started and looked around the room. "Why did Woolsey think he had to lock you up?"

John sighed and stretched out his legs in front of him. "Precaution," he replied tiredly.

"Precaution from what?" Rodney asked. "Just because you require a special diet? I don't see any vegetarians locked up here!"

"That is because vegetarians usually don't try to bite Dr. Keller's staff," John replied with forced patience. It was something that probably all of Atlantis already knew, that the small cut on the nurse's finger – a papercut, nothing more – had almost made his knees buckle.

"Oh, please," Rodney scoffed. "You did not try to bite her. You weren't even close to her."

"I wanted…" John stopped himself and licked his lips. "I wanted to, Rodney," he admitted softly. "Something is happening to me and I don't think…" Again, he stopped to shake his head.

"Hey."

This time, it was Ronon's voice interrupting the silence.

John flinched slightly. He hadn't heard Ronon enter and hadn't seen him either, and judging from Rodney's nervous jumpiness, neither had he.

"Hey," Ronon said again and stepped closer to the cell.

The force field surrounding John hummed quietly. "What are you doing here?" John asked in surprise and climbed to his feet.

Ronon shrugged and moved to lean against the wall casually. "Just checking up on you," he replied. His mouth twitched into a smile and his eyes glinted teasingly. "I want to see when you turn into a bat."

Rodney gave him a startled look. "You can transform into a bat?" he squeaked, his voice skidding over two octaves.

John shook his head. "No, I can't," he replied slowly before grinning. "But it would be pretty cool if I could."

Ronon laughed, and John slowly sank back to the ground. Being a vampire and being locked up still sucked, but at least he wasn't alone, and nobody had tried yet to put a wooden stake through his chest, or shoot him with silver bullets. He counted that as good things.

As far as living as an undead creature went, he figured things could be far worse.

~*+*~

"I have known of the Zubbi my entire life," Teyla said slowly, "and I have never before heard of an occurrence like this. I believe that we could benefit from visiting their planet again and asking them about what happened."

"You want to go back?" Rodney asked incredulously. "Do you want to get bitten too?"

"Actually, I believe the Zubbi never bite anyone without prior consent," Teyla pointed out calmly.

"Now wait a minute," John protested. "I certainly don't remember consenting to getting turned into a vampire!" He paced along the energy barrier of the holding cell he was still stuck in.

"No? What else did you agree to?" Rodney asked, his voice sharp. John turned toward him with a frown.

"I didn't agree to anything!" he argued.

"Well, obviously you did, or you wouldn't be here in the first place!" Rodney snapped.

"Gentlemen," Teyla interrupted them before their argument could get out of hand. She sounded annoyed, and John and Rodney closed their mouths, not without a glare being sent John's way.

Ronon pushed himself off the wall. "What did you agree on, Sheppard?" he asked.

John ran both hands through his hair. "I didn't agree to anything. She just said that she wanted to show me something I've never seen or experienced before," he recalled. "She called it…something powerful and vital to her people."

"And you fell for that? Clearly she just wanted to get a shot at your…" Rodney gesticulated toward John's groin and then toward his neck. "Besides, eating is pretty vital, if you ask me."

Ronon grinned while John's ears slowly turned red, from annoyance and embarrassment. "She never said anything about getting bitten."

"I admit that I am not that familiar with the Zubbi's mating ritual," Teyla admitted.

"Yeah," Ronon interrupted her. "She proposed to you, Sheppard, and asked you for your blood. It's an honor."

Rodney whirled around. "You knew they were vampires?" he asked accusingly. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Ronon shrugged. "They're nice people," he said. "They never bite you without consent, and it's a powerful, and mostly harmless thing."

"Harmless? You call that harmless?" Rodney spluttered and flung his arm out toward the cell that still held John.

Ronon shrugged again. "That didn't happen when I experienced it."

Silence filled the room.

Finally, Rodney whimpered. "You…were bitten too?"

"Wait a minute," John said. "When Teyla introduced us, Rian said your name first. He recognized you."

Ronon shrugged a third time. "Yeah."

"When did you get bitten?" Rodney asked. He sounded strangled.

"The night before I married Melena." Ronon gave Rodney a sideways glance, stopping any further questions Rodney might have. "Had a headache for three days, but that was all."

"Huh," Rodney said. "So, what now?"

His radio crackled. "Rodney, are Ronon and Teyla with you?" Keller's voice asked.

Rodney confirmed. "They are, what's up?"

"Can you guys escort Colonel Sheppard to the infirmary?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure," Rodney replied and turned back to John. "They want you at the infirmary."

John nodded and took a step back from the energy field, and Rodney disengaged it and opened the cell.

"Let's go," Ronon said and fell in step with him.

~*+*~

"I don't believe Colonel Sheppard is a danger for this expedition," Keller explained to Woolsey as they stepped around a curtain. "As long as he gets blood regularly, he's perfectly capable of controlling his impulses. And as long as he isn't a danger to the expedition, I don't see a problem in giving him blood conserves."

They came to stop in front of the bed occupied by John. He was sitting on the edge, a mug in his hands. The rest of his team was, unsurprisingly, close by.

"And there is something else," Keller said slowly.

"What is it?" Woolsey asked and stared at the mug in John's hands. The thick, dark liquid in it was not coffee, he realized with a twist of his stomach, and even if Keller had told him what to expect, seeing it made him feel slightly nauseous.

"Ronon says he's been bitten before and he didn't experience the same symptoms as the Colonel. As far as we know, Colonel Sheppard is the only person who reacted badly to such a bite…maybe the Iratus bug is the reason for that, I don't know yet. I'm working on it."

Woolsey nodded. "How are you feeling, Colonel?" he asked.

John grimaced at the mug in his hand. "Better," he simply replied.

"Well." Woolsey pushed his glasses up his nose. "Doctor Keller assures me you are not a threat to the expedition, so I think we don't need to lock you up any longer. However," he tilted his chin up. "-you will stay in Atlantis for the time being. No missions."

"Yes, sir." John frowned.

"At least until Doctor Keller finds a … solution," Woolsey added. "And…make sure you…eat regularly. I'm sure Doctor Keller will make sure you'll get what you need."

Keller nodded, and John followed suit.

"That is all. Keep me informed of the development." Woolsey gave a brief nod to the team and left.

"That went well," Rodney commented, and Teyla bowed her head in agreement. They all had been able to sense Woolsey's nervousness and discomfort.

John nodded slowly. "What now?" he asked softly and allowed his eyes to follow Rodney, who, without much more than a glance in John's direction, stood and hurried after Keller when she left them alone.

"Well," Teyla said and stepped up to him, "It seems that we are allowed some…spare time." She bowed her head, and instinctively, John followed suit, until their foreheads touched in an Athosian greeting. "You are most welcome to meditate with me later, John," she said, amusement glinting in her eyes.

John laughed. "Thank you," he replied softly. "I'd rather watch Torren while you meditate."

Teyla nodded, as if she'd expected that answer, and stepped back. "I will drop him off with you then," she stated.

John grimaced slightly. "You're not afraid I bite him?" he asked, the words escaping him almost against his will. He hadn't known that question was bothering him until it was out, and he tried to grin, to cover his lapse, and pass it off as a joke, but as usual, Teyla saw right through him.

"No," she said calmly. "I am not."

John nodded softly. "Thank you, Teyla," he mumbled roughly.

Teyla trusted him with the most important thing in her life, and it made John's chest ache with emotions he didn't even wanted to acknowledge that he had.

Teyla gave him a smile and stepped back.

Ronon clapped a hand on John's shoulder. "They say the Zubbi have a lot of strength," he said before grinning. "I bet I could still beat you in sparring."

~*+*~

The sad thing was, John realized later, that Ronon was right about that one.

~*+*~

"You know," John said and pressed the little piece of sterile bandage to the crook of his elbow, "I'm starting to think that you're the vampire, not me."

He glanced at the row of little vials that Keller had just filled with his blood. It was the only blood he'd faced since he'd developed a taste for it that didn't make his stomach growl with hunger.

Keller laughed and handed him a mug with luke-warm blood. "I'm sorry, Colonel, but this isn't the slightest bit appetizing to me."

John's fingers curled protectively around the porcelain and he took a sip. He forced himself to drink slowly, to make it last, even if he knew that cold blood would give him stomach cramps and he should finish his lunch before it cooled off.

"Here you are!" Rodney stepped up to him with a smug grin on his face. "I've been looking for you."

John took another sip of his blood with a grimace. It had cooled off too much already.

"You found me," he replied evenly and forced the last mouthful of blood down this throat.

"Seriously, that's…mildly disgusting," Rodney replied with a frown. "But at least you're not putting cornflakes in that, or marshmallows."

He didn't wait for John to come up with an answer to that. "You can thank me for my genius later," he said and bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet. It was something he usually only did when there was the chance that they might find a particularly interesting piece of Ancient technology, and John couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"What did you do, did you destroy another solar system?"

"What? No!" Rodney sounded exasperated. "Seriously, you should have a little trust in my far superior abilities! I don't make the same mistake twice."

"Uh-huh." John squinted up at him. "So…what did you do?"

Rodney stepped up to him with a grin that was almost manic and pushed something he'd held hidden in his palm against John's chest. "Think _on_!" he demanded.

"What is that?" John asked and glanced down.

"It's a personal shield," Rodney explained excitedly.

"What?"

"It's perfectly safe," Rodney said. "I tested it myself."

"You what?" John asked sharply.

Rodney rolled his eyes. "I modified it, I tested it, it's perfectly safe! Now think it on!"

John still hesitated, but he took the small object from Rodney's fingers and inspected it carefully. It was smaller than the personal shields they had dealt with in the past, but besides that, it looked exactly like it. "What does it do?"

"Ah-hah!" Rodney grinned and lifted his finger. "It is designed to protect you from sunlight. I am brilliant, if I may say so myself." He looked grim for a moment. "Everybody is laughing their ass off when they see you jump around trying not to get hit by sunlight while running around the city," he added. "It's distracting."

"And you're sure it works?" John asked, choosing not to comment on that particular bit of knowledge. Being the laughing stock of Atlantis wasn't a role he was very comfortable with, and he pretended he didn't notice the way people stared at him funnily and bit back giggles whenever he had to stop short and press himself against a wall, to avoid the sunlight.

He finally thought _on_ at the small conception, expecting the familiar green glow to wash around him, but instead, he found himself surrounded by a dark shade of purple.

"And now, think it off!" Rodney ordered.

This time, John didn't argue and did what he'd been told. He half expected the shield to refuse to be turned off, but it worked just like Rodney had promised.

"Are you sure it keeps sunlight away from me?" he asked, and Rodney gave him a dark look.

"Am I the most brilliant person in two galaxies or not?" he asked back, but without really expecting John to answer. "This shield now works like, like, like a giant pair of sunglasses. You should try it, come on."

John chuckled softly and put the mug he was still holding down. "Let's go and give it a spin," he decided before standing. "But if it doesn't work…"

"It will work," Rodney interrupted confidently. "Don't worry, we won't let you fall to dust. And if you do…I brought a broom."

~*+*~

"It actually works!" John lifted his hand and stared at it in surprise. The force field sparkled slightly but he didn't feel the tightness in his skin that he'd grown to associate with contact with sunlight.

"Don't sound so surprised," Rodney scoffed. "I told you!"

"Yes, you did. Repeatedly," John sighed good-naturedly.

Rodney grinned triumphantly before tilting his head to the side. "Vampires aren't exactly supposed to sparkle like that," he mused, "but it beats the alternative."

"The Zubbi do not require this kind of protection," Teyla pointed out.

"Yes, they do." Rodney snapped his fingers. "The shield!" he said, his thoughts racing. "That's what their shield is for! To protect them from the sun, not from the Wraith!"

"They rarely leave their home planet," Ronon added. "Maybe you are right."

It was, John thought with a small grin that revealed the sharp and pointy teeth, almost worth his situation, just to see Rodney snap for air like a fish on dry land.

~*+*~

"Colonel Sheppard. How nice to see you today." Dr. Keller gave him a friendly smile.

John hopped up on the bed, like he'd done it in the past few weeks whenever he had needed fresh blood, and gave her a flirty smile.

"Do you need to draw more blood today?" he asked. "I'm sure you took enough to get by for a long time."

Keller's smile became vacant. "Yes," she said dreamily. "I'm sure I took enough blood to get by for a long time."

John frowned. "Dr. Keller?" he asked and waved his hand in front of her eyes. "Hello?"

She didn't move.  
"Huh," John said. "I never saw that coming." He wasn't sure what exactly he'd done and how he had done it, but it was obvious that the effects were quite impressive.

Now he just needed to figure out how to snap her out of her trance.

Carefully, he poked her shoulder, but it didn't have any effect on her. She just took a step back when he poked her harder, but remained frozen, her vacant eyes focused on him.

There was only one thing he could think of doing.

He contacted Rodney.

~*+*~

"This is typical," Rodney growled bitterly, his mouth slanted downwards, until it was nothing more than a thin, disapproving line in his face. "You're not only a vampire, no, you're a sex vampire."

John bared his fangs in a dark scowl. "McKay!"

Not even the expression on Rodney's face when he saw the sharp, pointy teeth that John had tried to keep hidden and that he had cut his tongue on more often than he cared to think about since they had grown made him feel better about the entire situation.

"What?" Rodney snapped back.

"You are not helping," John growled. "What am I supposed to do?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Rodney demanded to know. "I didn't hypnotize her!"

"So? You always have an answer!"

Rodney looked pained. "Just tell her to wake up, maybe?" he suggested. "Did you try that?"

"No." John scratched at the back of his skull. "Um…wake up?"

Keller blinked and shook her head. "Colonel? Rodney? What happened?"

"Colonel Kirk Dracula here hypnotized you," Rodney explained darkly. "How are you feeling?"

"I didn't do it on purpose," John protested.

"Huh," Keller said and lifted a hand to her forehead. Rodney was at her side immediately and wrapped his arm protectively around her. "Are you okay? Here, let's get you checked out," he murmured worriedly and guided her away, not turning around toward John anymore.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" he called out after them, but neither Rodney nor Keller appeared to hear him.

John sighed. He needed to figure out how exactly he had managed to hypnotize Keller, and how he could control that ability.

~*+*~

"Oh. Hey." Rodney frowned at John. "What are you doing?"

"Practicing," John replied and squinted at Rodney. Smiling at his best friend that way was a weird experience, and he almost expected Rodney to make a scathing remark, but this was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

"Hey, Rodney," he drawled. "Why don't you get me some of that cake?"

Now he really expected Rodney to give him a piece of his mind, but he gave him his most winning smile anyways. Rodney's face went blank, and he turned on his heel and disappeared down the hallway, in the direction of the transporter that would take him to the cafeteria.

"Huh," John said. He hadn't expected this to work.

"That was…impressive," Teyla commented. She stepped up to him and sank onto the bench he was sitting on, her bare arm brushing against his sleeve.

"Thanks," John replied. "I'm still practicing this whole thing." He grimaced. "It's making me a little uncomfortable when people around me turn into zombies…I don't want it to happen in a conflict situation."

"And yet, you had no problem with sending Rodney to get you a piece of cake you cannot digest?" Teyla asked with a raised eyebrow. Before John could reply and defend himself – he wasn't harming Rodney, Keller had confirmed that the only after-effect of the hypnotizing was a splitting headache – Teyla continued. "When did you drink last?"

Jon shrugged, thankful for the change of topics. "A couple of days ago," he admitted. "Before I accidentally zombified Dr. Keller."

Teyla tilted her head to the side. "That was last week," she pointed out. "John, you need to eat!"

"Yeah, I know." John sighed and scooted over on the small bench, to make room for Ronon, who just sat down silently.

Teyla thought for a moment. "It is an honor to aid the Zubbi," she said slowly. "And it is said to be a very sensual experience that usually leaves both partners extremely…satisfied."

"Yeah," Ronon agreed. "That." He gave Teyla a vaguely amused glance over John's head, a glance John didn't even want to think about too closely.

John gave her a confused look. "What are you suggesting?" he asked, suddenly suspicious.

"I am merely saying that you require nourishment," Teyla replied calmly. "And if you accept, I will offer you my blood."

"Yeah," Ronon added. "Me too."

John opened his mouth to reply. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to think about this offer, or about the whole situation in general. He was confused and tired and hungry, and the entire situation left him with a certain level of irritability that he'd been fighting the whole past week and that rivaled Rodney's grumpiness in the morning, before he'd had his coffee.

Before he could reach a decision, Rodney returned, a plate with a piece of cake in his hands and an eager expression on his face.

"Thanks, buddy," John said and took the plate before offering it to Ronon.

Teyla sighed. "John," she said, the hint of a warning in her voice, and John sighed. "Wake up, Rodney," he said quickly.

Rodney blinked and swayed slightly on his feet before catching himself. He needed a few seconds to orient himself. "Oh. Hey," he then said.

"Rodney," Teyla replied and bowed her head in greeting. "If you excuse us, Colonel Sheppard and I have an important task to take care of." She gave John a look that gave no room for protest and rose. John hastily scrambled to his feet and followed her. A part of him was relieved that she'd taken control of the situation, that she cared for him enough to refuse to let him starve to death, but the rest of him was filled with trepidation. He didn't want to risk her life and health in any way, and since Keller still had no clue why he was a vampire in the first place, there was the risk of infecting others.

Apparently Teyla had no such doubts.

Ronon grinned at Rodney. "Thanks for the cake," he said.

A frown crossed Rodney's face. "What cake?" he asked confusedly before sighing. "Oh, ha ha. Colonel Dracula played his mind games on me, didn't he? What other embarrassing things did he make me do? Pretend to be a chicken in the middle of the lab?"

"No," Ronon said and grinned up at him. "But you're going to give him ideas."

"Oh great." Rodney turned on his heel. "We need to find a way to protect ourselves from that."

"Hmm." Ronon took the last bite of cake and closed his eyes in bliss as the chocolate melted on his tongue.

Rodney just rolled his eyes in disgust and stormed off.

~*+*~

"Are you sure you know what you're doing? Because I've got to be honest with you, I don't." John shifted nervously from one foot to the other.

"Relax," Teyla replied serenely. "It is instinctive, from what I gathered. You will figure this out, John."

John sighed. "All right," he said. "If you're sure."

He still wanted to call the entire thing off, but Teyla gave him a long look, and he took a deep breath.

"I am," she confirmed.

John ran the tip of his tongue against the sharp points of his teeth. They were almost sharp enough that biting his tongue meant a serious injury. Thankfully, he was healing quickly after each of these little accidents that had left him with his mouth filled with his own blood.  
Teyla looked at him, patient and trusting, and John reached out with trembling fingers to brush her hair out of the way, to expose the soft skin of her throat.

He swallowed, his gaze drawn to her neck. "If I hurt you…" he said hoarsely and licked suddenly dry lips.

"I will let you know," Teyla promised quietly.

John nodded jerkily. Time seemed to slow down as he slowly bent down and rubbed his nose against the side of her neck.

"What is Kanan going to say?" he wondered aloud.

"I believe you should not worry about that," Teyla pointed out gently.

"You did this before?" he asked and ran his fingertips down her arms, feeling the warmth and softness under his touch.

"Yes," she replied simply.

"Let me know if I do this wrong," John murmured, his lips already pressed against her throat.

Teyla exhaled softly. "I will," she murmured.

She smelled good, John thought suddenly, like exotic herbs and spices, and the heady fragrance of her blood made his vampire teeth throb with sudden need. He carefully set them against her skin and let them sink through it.

Teyla gave a soft sigh, just as the taste of her blood exploded on John's tongue, and he groaned deeply while blood filled his mouth and ran down his throat.

This, he thought dizzily, was so much better than the heated blood Keller had given him. Teyla's blood was almost hot against his tongue and its flavor was rich and full, not as bland as the stuff he'd been drinking so far.

It was perfect.

His entire body tingled with intense sensations, like arousal, and yet, so much more. Teyla gave a little moan and clutched at him, her fingers strong on his shoulders, and instinctively, John knew it meant he had to stop.

Reluctantly he pulled back, and almost immediately, the flow of blood from her throat slowed. It didn't stop, and John had a brief moment of cold panic while he tried to figure out how to staunch the flow, but then he remembered Keller speculating about his saliva and its various functions, and he decided to just try it. If vampire saliva didn't heal the wounds in Teyla's neck, he could still radio Dr. Keller.

Almost hesitantly, he leaned in again and touched his tongue to Teyla's throat; over the two little puncture wounds.

Teyla sighed softly, and John remained frozen in place for a split second, enjoying the smell of her and willing his body to return to its usual state of easy relaxation, even with Teyla's blood throbbing in him. He felt alive and aroused and satiated at the same time, and it left him slightly unsettled. As perfect as drinking from Teyla had been, something was missing, even if he didn't know what it was.

He had a vague idea what it might be, but he shied away from that thought almost immediately and took a hasty step backwards while lifting a hand to his mouth and wiping blood and saliva away.

Teyla slowly opened her eyes. The color had risen high in her cheeks, giving her a flushed look, and her pupils were blown wide. A bruise was starting to form on her throat already, and John felt a little stab of guilt at the sight. However, she wasn't bleeding anymore and she looked as aroused as he felt. It filled him with unease again – he and Teyla didn't work that way, he knew, they didn't feel that way for each other.

John swallowed thickly.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Teyla spoke.

"This was a most satisfying experience. You did a good job for a first time, John," she said. She sounded breathless, her voice slightly scratchy.

John coughed. "Thank you," he managed to say before turning on his heels and fleeing the room.

He needed some privacy now and he was almost sure that Teyla did, too.

~*+*~

"Nothing."

It sounded like a death note, John thought while his body remained perfectly still. Nobody in the conference room had a clue about how much a part of him simply wanted to stomp his foot and scream about how he'd never asked for this, how he'd never agreed to get turned into a vampire. On the outside, he was perfectly calm and relaxed, sprawled in his chair.

"Are you sure?" Woolsey asked, and Keller nodded and bit her lip.

"I'm sorry," she said. "There is no way to reverse the changing Colonel Sheppard underwent. None that I can see, at least."

"Maybe the Zubbi know something we don't," Rodney said finally. He sounded as if he'd just bitten into a lemon when suggesting something he had been opposed to for so long. "We could ask them."

Woolsey nodded slowly. "Major Lorne get your team ready," he ordered. "Dr. Keller, you're going with them. Try to find a cure and…" he gave Lorne a hard look. "…don't get bitten." As little as he liked the idea of risking another team, he was not willing to let one of his people remain a vampire, not if there was anything he could do. He trusted Dr. Keller fully, but now that she had admitted defeat, this was the only way he could see that had the possibility of changing Colonel Sheppard back.

"Yes, sir." Lorne nodded and stood. He gave John one last look and then hurried off, Keller following him quickly.

"Let's hope they have a cure," Woolsey muttered and stood, a clear sign that this meeting was over.

"Teyla?" John asked as he came to his feet. He pushed his hands deep into the pockets of his pants and studied the tips of his boots while waiting for everyone else to leave.

Teyla gave him a smile. "Yes, John?"

"Um…" He fidgeted a little before finally looking up at her. "Are we cool?"

There was so much more he wanted to ask her, but all these questions were unimportant next to this one. He wasn't entirely sure she understood what he wanted to say, and he wasn't certain that this was the correct place or time for his question, but he needed to make sure she hadn't suffered any consequences of him drinking her blood, and that she was still okay with it.

Teyla gave a nod. "Yes, we are," she said simply, another smile crossing her face, together with a faint blush. "I have to admit, this experience was…rougher…than what I remembered, but it filled its purpose."

John sagged a little in relief. "Okay, cool," he said. His fingers closed around the shield generator he'd slipped into his pocket, and he pulled it out and placed it on his chest to activate it. The memory of drinking from Teyla was still vivid in his mind, and even if he wasn't hungry right now, the thought of drinking from her sent a shiver of excitement down his back.

"Let me know when Lorne and his team are back," he requested before stepping out of the conference room and slowly made his way to his office.

He might be a vampire, but he still was the military commander of Atlantis and he had a desk full of paperwork to deal with.

~*+*~

It was hours until Lorne's team returned, and John didn't have to wait for the mission debriefing to know they hadn't brought back a cure. It was obvious in the way Keller didn't look him in the eye as she walked past him, her shoulders slumped and a frown etched onto her face.

"The Zubbi are as confused as we are," Lorne reported. "According to Rian, it's been several thousand years since this happened."

"There has to be a reason for this," Keller murmured. "I mean…maybe Riena was infected with something when she drank from you, Colonel. I managed to take a blood sample from her, just to make sure…"

John raised his eyebrows. "In that case, everyone I drank from would be affected as well," he said slowly. "And Teyla appears to be fine, after all."

"Teyla?" Keller frowned. "She wasn't bitten."

John breathed in deeply. He'd forgotten that they hadn't exactly told anyone what they had been doing. "She was," he confessed. "By me. Two days ago. And she's fine."

"Or the symptoms develop slower," Keller argued. "You didn't change immediately, either. Let me make sure she won't turn into a vampire, as well."

She left, and Lorne turned his attention to John. His eyes twinkled, even as his face remained neutral. "Sir, the Zubbi express their sincerest apologies about what happened. They offered to trade with us, as a sign of their good-will…and they said their planet is a safe place for all of their kind, and that included you."

John sighed. "Great," he muttered. He was sure Lorne was laughing about him on the inside, but there was no way to prove it. To an outsider, his XO appeared as respectful as always.

"What do they want to trade? Coffins?" Rodney asked dismissively.

"No." Lorne looked at him. "Shielding technology." He shrugged. "With Colonel Sheppard being one of them, we apparently have proved to be trustworthy enough for that."

~*+*~

"Hey." Rodney caught up with John.

"Rodney," John said with a raised eyebrow. "What's up? Did you figure out the Zubbi shielding technology?"

"I'm working on it," Rodney replied. "It's basically Ancient with a few modifications. The energy source…it's quite fascinating, actually."

John shook his head in amusement. "Was there something you needed?" he asked. "Something…turned on?"

"No," Rodney replied quickly. "Um." He stopped and took a deep breath. "Look," he said, "Teyla said that she let you. You know. Drink her blood and Jennifer said it didn't harm her and living, fresh blood is much healthier for you than bagged blood anyways and Ronon offered to help too, with the blood, and frankly, more than half of the base secretly dreams about you ravishing them and drinking their blood, which is a little disturbing, if you ask me…"

"Rodney," John interrupted patiently and with the experience of years. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Rodney swallowed visibly. "If you think I'm one of them, you're wrong," he quickly said before closing his eyes momentarily. "However, you're. I mean. If you. You know. Need help…"

"You're willing to let me drink from you?" John asked, surprise and the warmth of friendship at Rodney's offer, as much as he'd stumbled through it, rushing through him and filling his chest.

"Well, no," Rodney hastily replied. "However, I'm willing to let Jennifer draw my blood and let you have it." He lifted his chin challengingly. "I'm sure my blood is a lot more nutritious and tasteful than everything those Marines who like Ronon to use them as a punching bag have to offer!"

John had to bite back a smile. "I'm not so sure about that," he quipped. "I'm sure they would let me drink from them without making such a fuss."

Rodney snorted. "Which proves, again, my superior intelligence," he pointed out. "We still don't know how you got turned and why. I would prefer if this doesn't happen to me. I'd rather not accept my Nobel with pointy teeth and dressed in a cape." He shuddered at that thought. "Besides, it's unhygienic, and you're a sex vampire, and I'm sorry, I don't…" he gesticulated before shaking his head.

John laughed. "You're one of a kind, Rodney," he said fondly.

"Well, yes, of course I am," Rodney mumbled. He shrugged embarrassedly. "You want to do it now?"

"Sure, why not," John agreed. There wasn't anything he was doing right now anyways, and if he was honest, he was a little hungry. The Zubbi had assured Lorne that his need for blood would gradually sink as he became older, but as a newly transformed vampire, he required to drink regularly, at least once a week, and the more blood he drank in this phase of his development, the better it would be for him. They hadn't said how long that phase was supposed to last.

"Okay. Great." Rodney rubbed his hands nervously. "Let's go. Do you have a goblet or something?"

John gave him a blank stare. "Coffee mug from your lab," he replied, and Rodney grimaced.

"Barbarian," he murmured. "Hey, you didn't take my mug, did you?"

~*+*~

"Colonel," Dr. Keller said with a smile and handed him a mug. "Your lunch. From Rodney."

"Thanks," he replied and took the mug between his hands. The blood in it wasn't warm enough to burn his hands, but it definitely had a different temperature than the re-heated blood he'd drunk for most of his life as a vampire now.

It also had a distinctive aroma, he thought while lifting it to his lips; very different from Teyla's blood. For a split second, he wondered if every member of the expedition tasted differently, and then, the first drop of Rodney's blood touched his tongue, and every thought he'd had came to an abrupt, quick stop.

His awareness of everything around him disappeared almost instantly as the blood ran down his throat and filled him with heat.

He didn't know how long he remained in that state of absolute euphoria, but when he slowly blinked his eyes open, he was on his back on one of the beds of the infirmary. He didn't remember finishing the blood, and he didn't remember how he'd ended up here. He also didn't remember someone taking off his boots.

"Huh," he said to nobody in particular. "Weird."

"John?" Teyla asked and stepped into his line of vision. "Are you…back?"

John swallowed. "Yeah," he said slowly. At least, he was pretty sure that he was back. "What just happened?"

"You were hallucinating or something," Ronon said. "Keller said to just let you sleep your high off. She didn't expect any repercussions. Said you can probably go when you're up, but she wants to check up on you before you do."

"Huh," John said again. "Where's Rodney?"

"He went to the lab, I believe," Teyla offered. "He feels responsible for your current state."

"Yeah," Ronon agreed. "Said it's not his fault you can't handle his precious blood and stormed off."

John sighed and sat up. "Yeah, sounds like McKay," he grunted and reached for his boots.

Neither Ronon nor Teyla tried to stop him as he left the infirmary and went to track down Rodney, not waiting for Keller to clear him.

~*+*~

"Hey." Ronon gave him a grin and looked curiously around John's room. With Teyla's help, he'd covered the windows with Athosian tapestries, even if he could just as well have ordered Atlantis to lower the blinds. "Thought I might find you here."

"Yeah," John replied. "Rodney took the shield – he said he needed to make some upgrades, and until he's done with that, I'm stuck here." He didn't feel like lurking in the few shadows Atlantis had to offer. It felt too much like a cliché.

"Yeah," Ronon said and stepped further into the room. "I know." He waited a moment, to allow his eyes to get used to the low light. "So, you and McKay, you're okay?"

"Yeah," John said and ran both hands through his hair. "We're good. I think."

"Good," Ronon simply said.

"So?" John finally wanted to know and sat down on the edge of his bed. "Why are you here?"

Ronon shrugged. "To let you drink."

John stiffened. "I don't think that's such a good idea," he said carefully.

"Why not?"

John shrugged. "After what happened with McKay…" he tried to explain.

Ronon stared at him. "I'm not McKay," he finally pointed out. "Keller said you were just drunk."

"What if it happens again?" John pointed out.

Ronon gave him a small grin. "It won't," he promised. "I've done this before, remember? Besides, if you get drunk, we'll just let you sleep it off. No big deal."

John exhaled. "Yeah," he murmured.

"It's fine," Ronon said and sat down on the edge of the bed, next to him. "You're pretty hesitant for a sex vampire."

John felt himself flush. "Okay," he said sharply, "I'm not…"

"Yeah, you are," Ronon calmly interrupted him and wrapped his arm around John, to haul him up and into his lap. "All Zubbi are. They say it heightens the experience of drinking."

"Ronon…" John struggled a little bit, but Ronon held him tight with one arm wrapped around his waist and the other running up his back and clamping down on John's shoulder.

"John," he murmured, close to John's mouth. "John. I give you consent."

"That's not the point," John gritted out. "I can't do this!"

Ronon's hand was now resting against the back of John's neck. "You can," he insisted. "I'm not telling anyone."

For a long moment, they stared at each other, their eyes burning with stubbornness, but suddenly, John's stomach growled.

Ronon grinned and stroked his thumb gently against John's neck. "Come on," he said softly. "You need it."

He could feel John tremble in his grip as the vampire struggled with himself, and the waited patiently for him to come to a decision.

John hissed softly, but after what felt like an eternity to Ronon, he slowly went pliant in Ronon's grip.

"Yeah, like that," Ronon murmured encouragingly and bared his throat. John made a small. Tortured sound at the back of his throat, but he finally pressed his mouth against Ronon's neck and pierced the skin with his teeth.

It had been a long time since that one time, when he and his friends had stumbled through the Stargate, already drunk and laughing about something that was long forgotten now. He had been unsure back then, willing to let the Zubbi take the lead. He remembered only bits of pieces of their encounter, the teasing touch of fingers sliding up his bare arm for example, and the intense, almost delirious sensation of the Zubbi's mouth on his neck and his hand in Ronon's pants.

With John, it was different. John needed encouragement to even start drinking Ronon's blood, and even after he'd bitten Ronon, he seemed to hesitate. Ronon kept running his thumb against the back of John's neck. He didn't feel the overwhelming arousal he had felt when he had the other vampire drink from him. Instead he felt something else, a fierce need to protect John that slowly engulfed him.

It was more than friendship; he knew exactly what that felt like and this wasn't it. This was something he'd felt only once before, and his mind shied away from those memories, even after all these years.

Ronon's grip on John's hip eased, and John made another sound that sounded less like he was in pain than his earlier sound had, and then he was curling his tongue against Ronon's neck and pulled back.

He wiped his hand over his mouth. "That…was different," he said shakily.

Ronon chuckled softly. "You held back," he guessed. "A lot. Even after I told you it's okay."

John squirmed slightly and only belatedly, he realized that he was still in Ronon's lap. "Yeah," he said, his voice subdued. "After what happened with Rodney's blood…"

"Hey," Ronon interrupted him and tugged him gently closer, to lean their foreheads together. "You've seen now that I'm fine. Next time will go better."

John exhaled softly. "Yeah," he murmured and stood. He hesitated briefly before sitting down next to Ronon. "This sucks."

Ronon shrugged and nudged him slightly. "Want to spar?" he asked, trying to distract John from the gloomy mood he seemed to fall into.

"Can't," John replied and glanced at his watch. "Sun won't go down for another hour."

Ronon shrugged. "Want some company until then?"

~*+*~

"You wanted to see me?" John asked as he stepped into Rodney's lab.

"Yeah," Rodney said and frowned at something on his laptop. "Wait, I need to…"

He started to type, and John shrugged and curiously looked around.

"Ah, yes," he finally heard from Rodney and took it as a sign that Rodney now had time for him.

"What do you need me for?" he asked, and Rodney gave him one of his smug smiles.

"You can thank me for spending precious time and brainpower on this," he replied and handed John the, by now, familiar shape of the personal shield. "The Zubbi use solar energy to power their shields, which is brilliant – the stronger the sunlight, the stronger their shields. I incorporated some of their technology into the shield and added a back- up generator, but, you know, Rian said that with time, you'd get used to sunlight again, so you won't need this thing for forever." He shrugged. "They only use theirs because they keep the Wraith away, and because it's more comfortable for them, if I understood them correctly."

John stared at the small object in his hand. The design was still obviously Ancient, but someone – probably Rodney – had spray painted the familiar Batman-logo on it.

John pressed it against his chest and thought it on.

"Cool," he said, and Rodney grinned as if John had just personally handed him a ZPM and a Nobel prize.

~*+*~

"We figured it out," Keller said without preamble as she spotted John sitting at a table in the mess hall. He didn't need to eat solid food, it made him sick, but he enjoyed the bustling atmosphere around him.

"Yeah?" he now asked and raised both eyebrows. "What did you figure out?"

"Yeah." She looked at him with a slight blush. "Actually, it was Rodney who made me think of it. He said the Zubbi's entire technology is Ancient-based."

John nodded. So far, she didn't tell him anything he didn't know yet.

"Rian and all the other Zubbi – they have the ATA gene," she explained. "Everyone who has the gene and gets bitten transforms into a vampire. That's why you had such a strong reaction to Rodney's blood." She swallowed. "We should be thankful for his paranoia," she added. "If he hadn't insisted on not letting you drink from him, we would have two vampires on Atlantis now."

A muscle in John's jaw jumped, but he didn't say anything, and Keller spread her fingers wide. "As long as you only drink from expedition members who don't have the ATA gene, artificial or not, you should be fine."

John nodded. "How about a cure?" he asked.

Keller sighed. "So far, nothing yet," she admitted. "But we'll keep looking."

Again, John nodded, and she stood and squeezed his shoulder before leaving him to his thoughts.

John stared at his hands for a long moment and abruptly stood. The activity of the cafeteria around him was suddenly too much for him. He needed some peace and quiet to bring some order back to his thoughts.

Slowly, the sun was setting as he sat down at the end of one of the piers. The shield hummed quietly around him as he sat there and thought about what had happened.

So far, he'd managed to remain calm by telling himself that Keller and her team would find a cure for him and reverse the changes in his body, like the pointy teeth. But right now, it didn't look anymore like that was even a remote possibility. He was a vampire, and he would stay one, probably for the rest of his life – or until the Wraith managed to kill him.

He was the only vampire on Atlantis, and he hoped that he would be allowed to remain here and even go on missions with his team again. Rodney's shield should protect him well enough, and they needed him.

He sighed as the last rays of sunshine glittered on the surface of the ocean and deactivated the shield before slipping it into his pocket.

He couldn't really go back to Earth, he realized, but then, there wasn't much waiting for him there anyways.

Soft steps pulled him from his thoughts, but he didn't turn around to check who had joined him. He also didn't move when Rodney sat down next to him and offered him a mug with a queasy expression on his face.

"Radek," he said by way of explanation. "It's safe."

"Thanks," John murmured and turned the mug between his hands. He wasn't hungry, but he appreciated the gesture.

Teyla joined them next, her smile serene and Torren sleeping peacefully in her arms.

"Are you okay?" she asked him gently, and John grimaced.

"This sucks," he replied honestly, "but I'm okay."

Rodney snorted – and startled when Ronon crouched down next to him. "You're the expert on sucking," he teased and nudged John. "We should get you a cape."

"A black one," Ronon added with a mischievous grin, and John couldn't hold back the small chuckle. He lifted the mug to his face, to mask it, and took a sip of lukewarm blood.

His family, he thought quietly, was here, and they accepted him, even with pointy teeth and a bad sun allergy and a weird diet. It didn't solve any of his current problems, but it gave him the confidence that he would be able to deal with everything Pegasus would throw at him.

He'd never thought he would end up being a vampire, but then, he'd also never expected that he would end up living in another galaxy, in the city of Atlantis, and all together, he thought with a smile while putting the mug down and leaning back onto his hands, to gaze up at the stars that were glittering down onto them, it had turned out to be pretty okay, all together.

~end.


End file.
